Avinash Kaul Decodes the Future of Media | e4m English Journalism Conference 2026

Duration: 4:22 871 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

Avinash Kaul opens his address by emphasizing that leadership in media requires constant vigilance regardless of whether one operates in broadcast, digital, print, or outdoor sectors. He warns leaders against complacency, noting that the industry is akin to climbing a mountain where falling can drag down thousands who look up to them for guidance. This responsibility demands sleepless nights and clear decision-making capabilities because every choice impacts lives and industries for years; however, he clarifies that no single moment defines success or failure but rather a sequence of ten thousand decisions, most of which are mistakes. The speaker challenges the very definition of "traditional media," arguing that even century-old brands like Fortune have evolved into digital and social entities despite their historical roots. He suggests that labeling anything as purely traditional is incorrect because survival in this environment requires adaptability and nimbleness rather than adherence to old methods. In a Darwinian landscape where only the fittest survive, organizations must constantly move toward where people are, proving that there is no static playbook for success since every new mountain presents entirely different rules and rock faces to navigate. Kaul admits he has never relied on a strategic manual or a proven formula because today's media landscape offers no existing rulebook to follow. Instead of waiting for perfection before acting, he advocates for a mindset where one walks forward despite repeated failures, learning and improvising daily until problems are solved. He illustrates this hunger for survival with his own experience in book publishing; having never been an author or published a book previously, he managed to achieve top rankings on Amazon within three months simply by figuring out the marketing mechanics as they went along rather than following established patterns. Ultimately, Kaul shares that any future guidebook titled "The Next Mountain" will not be created for commercial gain but purely as a purpose-driven act of service to others in the industry. He has already given away all rights and royalties associated with such work because his goal is not financial profit but rather helping fellow climbers navigate their own journeys on new mountains where they too may lack a rulebook. By sharing insights gained through failure and improvisation, he hopes that if anyone finds value in these lessons to help them climb higher, then the purpose of his efforts will be fully achieved without seeking any monetary reward from it.

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Different mountains, rules are the same. That don't be complacent about anything. If you are a leader today, you can get into dust tomorrow if you are not vigilant, you will fall and everyone along with you will fall. So, as a leader, it doesn't matter whether you are in broadcast, whether you are in digital, whether you are in print, whether you are in outdoor, whether you are in anywhere else. You cannot afford to take your eyes off the ball, which means you need to live with sleepless nights. You need to have the clarity of making decisions that are going to impact lives and the industries for many, many years. So, there is a cost of being a leader. And that is that you need to know that you are climbing up a mountain and you have lots of thousands of people and the entire industry which is looking up to you for taking the right call. So, it requires that amount of a reverence, such amount of respect for your industry, for your work to make sure that you're always on the ball. The very definition of what we call as traditional media companies, I don't know are they still traditional? I don't think they are traditional. It is just because the brands are maybe 100 years old, 50 years old, 30 years old, we decide to still call them traditional. We had people here from print magazines. We had from Fortune and other places. They aren't now magazines. They are also digital. They are also social. They are everything else. But we decide to call them as traditional. It's just that as a percentage of their overall business, the newer streams are smaller. But in many cases, those smaller streams might be bigger than the individual content creators in those spaces. So, I wouldn't call anything as traditional because if there was anything which is only traditional, I think that might have already expired or that might have been past its sell by date already. So, to call any one of these things as traditional, I don't think is right because the Darwinian philosophy of survival of the fittest means that traditional things first of all should never think themselves of traditional. They are all in the survival. They are all the mountain and they need to be very nimble-footed. They need to go wherever the people are and that is what they need to do and they are all doing it very successfully. Some more successfully than others, but there is no two ways around that. I have actually such a heavy question that I have never thought about it. I mean, I never thought that I was in that hallowed place where I would that one decision that would do. It's a sequence of 10,000 decisions and out of the 10,000 decisions, maybe 9,000 are wrong. So, I don't even know which one was contributing to which success. And I have never kept a track of oh, now I have to have a prepared answer for something which is you know, what was that one decision? I have absolutely no clue. I have absolutely no clue and I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I really don't have an answer for that. I wouldn't have a playbook because today there is a new mountain. And a new mountain means new rules. Means a new rock face that you're climbing from. So, I would rather still go by failures. I would keep walking and I would fail. And I would still keep walking and I would fail again. And I would fail faster and I'll climb higher and I'll reach that summit on a very new mountain where I don't know the rulebook because today's media new company, I don't know what the rulebook is. But I'll find it along the way and I'll improvise with every single day. I will not sleep at night till I don't solve the problems of that till I don't come out on top. I'll give you a very small example. I have never done book publishing in my life. I've never been an author in my life. In 3 months, if I could figure out how to do the book marketing and how to get to a number one you know, in all the categories and 19th in my Amazon, you know, in across India, I think that means just that I'm hungry and I want to survive. And I'll find a way. So, I don't have a playbook. You create a playbook and then after you are successful for a long period of time, some people might be interested in buying that playbook off you, which is exactly what the next mountain is. While I was climbing, I never thought that I'm going to write a playbook called The Next Mountain, which others might help and then climb their own journey. If they find anything of value, my purpose is achieved. I'm not doing it for commercial interest. There is no single rupee that I'm making from the book because I have all given it off. It's not a commercial interest. It's purely a purpose play for me.